Cold Cuts and Ale
by Rancho Relaxo
Summary: Short one shot with male Cousland, Oghren, Leliana and Cauthrien. Conversational. Slight tweak, Apr 2010.


_**Author's notes: **The PC's name is Sean, keeping the Irish name theme in the game (e.g. Connor, Fergus, Eamon). It is also easy to type.  
This story is set just after the Landsmeet, with a short flashback to earlier in the day.  
Bioware own all the characters except the main PC. _

**Cold Cuts and Ale**

Sean walked through the main hall in Eamon's Denerim Estate, heading towards the kitchens. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat for a good long while, since before the Landsmeet.

What a day it had been. After waking and breaking fast, Sean along with his companions had made off to the Landsmeet. Just after they crossed the bridge over the Drakon River, a group of ten or twelve bandits had attempted to stop them. The cynic in Sean told him that this was planned by Loghain, but in reality they didn't really stand a chance. A sloppily executed ambush featuring a trip wire that looked like it could have been made with marine rope. Archers crouched behing barrels of flammable oils. Lightly armoured bandits up against Sean, Alistair, Sten and Oghren all wearing massive suits of armour. Nevertheless if their intention was to slow down the group then they succeeded somewhat.

Arriving at the Landsmeet a short time later, the group was approached by the familiar form of Ser Cauthrien. Unbelievable. This woman was still attempting to block their passage into the chamber.

"Warden" she said, in a voice laced with ice, "I'm not surprised it has come to this. And Alistair, if you were even remotely worthy of being called Maric's son, you would already be in the Landsmeet, wouldn't you?" Sean looked her directly in the eyes. They were cold and dark, the blue of a late evening sky. "Ser Cauthrien, would you tell me what you see on my armour?"

"What are you talking about - " she started.

"It's blood, you fool. Blood from bandits who were sent to waylay us on the way here. Yet another futile attempt to prevent the truth from making its' presence felt here today."

"I know nothing of this!" she exclaimed. Sean could see the surprise in her eyes. "_Finally_," he thought "_a chance to make this one see reason._"

"Cauthrien, we will see justice prevail today. It matters little to me your previous efforts and my temporary incarceration in Fort Drakon. I bear no grudges against you, and would prefer to have you help us against the Blight. I offer a simple choice: stand aside now and let us establish Ferelden's ruler. Or don't."

Cauthrien looked over the group assembled in front of her. A Qunari flanking the royal bastard. A pair of magi and a dwarf. A golem at the back. A red headed girl and a blonde elf. In the middle, the Cousland whelp - truth be told, this son of Bryce Cousland was tall and strong, with an aura of confidence that could only come from command. There was something else about him - an air of... righteousness? Honour? She was reminded of how Loghain was when she first began to work her way through the ranks of the King's army.

"You remind me of how Loghain used to be..." she muttered, looking down. "I will stand aside."

With a flick of his hand, Sean led the group past Cauthrien and they made their way into the main assembly chamber. As he passed by, Sean's ice blue eyes met her deep blue ones. He whispered quickly to her "thank you, Cauthrien."

A loud belch roused Sean from his reverie as he opened the door into the kitchen. The dwarf Oghren was inside, finishing off another in a long line of pints of Denerim Dark Ale. He looked up and grinned as the Warden entered. "Hey there Warden. Come to join me with this fine brew?"

"Of course, Oghren - but I was really looking for something to eat as well" replied Sean.

"They left some of the meat platters out over there, and there's bread, cheese and dried somethings on that bench over there" said Oghren, pointing at two benches across the room. Sean nodded and busied himself cutting some strips of veal, chunks of cheese, bread and dried fruits. Oghren poured two tankards of ale and pushed one across the table towards Sean.

"Helluva day, Warden" Oghren said, taking a swig from his tankard, "any news yet about - well, you know?"

"Nothing yet. We'll know within the next hour or so" replied Sean. "Oghren - do you think I made a mistake in the chamber today? I mean letting Loghain live?"

The dwarf frowned and took a long pull from his tankard. "You haven't let us down yet, Warden. This Blight - it needs the Grey Wardens to stop it. The smart thing to do is get as many Grey Wardens as you can, right? You couldn't have known that Alistair was going to do what he did. Stupid kid - he never could see the big picture. You're the Warden in charge, and you're the one people will follow."

"Loghain might even die yet. If he does, that leaves me and Riordan" muttered Sean.

"Look, I'll tell you something" said Oghren, leaning forwards and fixing the Warden with a stare. "We've been on the road for what - nine months now, and you had the others with you even longer than that. You've never been one to waste anything. You act like you're merchant caste sometimes, the way you look at things and... sort of value them the way you do. You saw this Loghain guy the same way - a weapon to use against the Darkspawn."

"Maybe..." mumbled Sean, taking a mouthful of ale.

"No dammit, you did the right thing! What use is a sword if you break off the hilt? Don't doubt yourself, Warden." Oghren grinned and took another mouthful of ale.

"Still it's a shame that Alistair won't be there. He's been like a brother, had my back in combat quite a bit. Saved my arse on a few occasions too" Sean sighed. He took another piece of veal and munched, thinking about the day.

"I thought I heard you in here" said Leliana, peeking around the open door. "Can I join you?" she asked, stepping into the room.

"Oghren and I were just sharing some ale and talking about today" said Sean, smiling at the bard. "Come on in - there's food over there, you're probably as hungry as I was" he said, nodding towards the benches. Leliana smiled, then moved over to collect some food. Oghren grabbed a fresh tankard from the shelf behind him and poured some ale for Leliana, and topped up his own tankard.

Leliana sat down beside Sean with her platter of food, but leaned towards Sean and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. She grinned and began nibbling at her meal. "What was that for?" asked Sean, with a smile. "I heard what Oghren said before I came in. I think you did the right thing today too. This man, Loghain, he is a good general, no? He would make a fine Warden with you to guide him" she said.

Leliana finished her mouthful and paused. "I think we all feel the same way, except Wynne. You'll need to talk to her about this - Alistair, Wynne and you were the only ones who were at the battle where Loghain quit the field. Perhaps tomorrow morning you should see her, yes?"

"I was thinking of seeing her tonight, but yes, maybe tomorrow is better" replied Sean.

"Tonight I had other ideas" purred Leliana. Oghren guffawed and slapped the table with his tankard, splashing some ale about.

The quiet conversation between the three comrades was interrupted fifteen minutes later by a knock on the door. One of Arl Eamonn's Redcliffe guards entered the room. "Ahh - sorry to interrupt, Warden, but I have been looking for you."

"We were just having something to eat" Sean gestured at the table. "Is there something the matter?"

"Beg pardon, ser, but there's a lady to see you. I think it's that one from Fort Drakon they was talking about - Cauthrien. She gave me this note but I ain't got no letters" he stammered. He passed the note to Sean and waited.

Sean quickly scanned the note before dropping it onto the table for Leliana and Oghren to see. "She's asked to come and see me and says she is waiting at the gate. Can you escort her in here? Make sure she is unarmed too, if you please."

"Right away, Warden" the guard saluted and left.

Quickly Sean hopped up and scanned the kitchen for obvious weapons. The knives were all stowed away behind Oghren, as were the carving forks. Sean pulled the knife he had used to slice the veal earlier and put it on the table in front of Leliana before resuming his seat. He popped a piece of dried apple into his mouth and waited.

The guard returned a few minutes later and knocked on the door again. He entered and said "Ser Cauthrien, here to see you, Warden". Cauthrien entered the kitchen, looking remarkably different to her heavily armoured visage earlier in the day. She wore a plain white tunic with a pair of mahogany trousers, brown boots and a brown belt. The guard raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at Sean, who shook his head briefly. The guard nodded and left the room.

"Greetings Cauthrien. Allow me to introduce two of my companions. This is Oghren, and this is Leliana" said Sean, indicating each in turn.

Cauthrien nodded at Oghren and Leliana, and then said "Warden, I... just wanted to thank you for sparing Loghain today."

"Please, Cauthrien, sit down. Oghren, can you...?"

Oghren grunted and grabbed another fresh tankard, pouring some ale for Cauthrien and once again topping off his own tankard. He passed the ale to Cauthrien, who nodded her thanks.

"Your thanks might be premature, Cauthrien. Loghain is to go through the joining. He may have gone through it by now, we are just waiting on word ourselves" said Sean.

"What do you mean?" asked Cauthrien.

"When I was at Ostagar, I went through this ... ceremony, I suppose you could call it, called 'the Joining'. It is an initiation into the Grey Wardens." Sean took a deep draught of his ale. "When I went through it, there were two other recruits with me. I was the only survivor."

"They died?" she asked.

"Yes. The joining involves taming the taint that the darkspawn have. It does... things to you - it makes you able to sense darkspawn when they are nearby. Your pain tolerance goes up, you heal faster, you eat a lot more. But you have a shortened lifespan. I will not live to see 50 years. Alistair tells me that it is also almost impossible to sire children as a Grey Warden as well."

"We'll see about that" mumbled Leliana with a grin.

"I see. I didn't know any of this. I didn't see you at Ostagar, but Loghain told me of the Warden recruits" Cauthrien said. "I... you have lost so much, my lord Cousland. If this means the end of your family line, then... " she trailed off, unable to finish her thoughts aloud. Cauthrien took a gulp of her ale.

"I'm just a Grey Warden now. If Fergus still lives, he'll be the head of House Cousland. At least that cunt Howe is dead." muttered Sean, finishing off his tankard. He passed it back to Oghren for a refill.

"Ser Cauthrien, what will you do now?" asked Leliana.

Cauthrien looked at the bard, her brow furrowed. "I will do whatever the King asks of me".

"If Loghain survives, what then?" asked Sean.

"I... am unsure. I am no seer, and I just don't know" she replied.

"I am in uncharted waters, Cauthrien. I don't really know Loghain well enough to just say 'you are the proxy Alistair' and expect him to follow my orders. He's been used to ordering people for so long that I fear he might not take orders too well. I do not want to have to break him like a trainer tames a horse. What do you think?" asked Sean.

Cauthrien thought for a minute, spinning the handle of her tankard around slowly. "I believe he will follow you since you defeated him at the Landsmeet. He is a soldier first and foremost. But he won't follow a fool, although I believe your leadership skills are more than adequate for the task" she paused and took a sip of her ale. Cauthrien continued, "he heard of your massing of the armies. Why do you think we came here when you arrived in Denerim? It wasn't to see Eamon, but to size you up as an opponent. His judgement failed that day."

"You speak with a lot more... candour than I would have expected. The rumour we heard was that you worshipped the ground he walked on" remarked Sean.

"Truthfully, Warden - you did Ferelden a great favour by splitting Howe open as you did. I believe that he had been conspiring with Maker forsaken scum - blood mages, assassins and such. His stink was fouling the air around Loghain for the last few years. Maker knows why he put up with a snake like Howe" she continued, "Many of the decisions that led to your becoming a Warden were a result of Howe's treachery."

"Not all of it was him. Loghain must shoulder some of the responsibility. If he survives then he'll be able to make up for the hurt his orders have caused" said Sean. "It's a second chance, and not many people get that, Cauthrien."

"Warden, if ... if he survives, may I join you for the battles to come?" asked Cauthrien.

"_That is not a bad idea_" thought Sean. He glanced at Oghren, who shrugged his shoulders. "What do you think, Leliana?" he whispered to the bard.

"Easier for you to keep an eye on her. I say yes." she whispered back.

"One thing at a time, Cauthrien - let's see if he survives first" said Sean. "It might be difficult for you. There's no ranks, just one leader and everyone follows. If Loghain can accept that then you would have to as well. You would be following my orders, and not Loghains."

"If he can do it, I can too" said Cauthrien, emptying her tankard.


End file.
